Quick lighting cigarette



Oct. 25, 1955 A. E. GRIFFITHS QUICK LIGHTING CIGARETTE Filed April 26, 1955 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS United States Patent-=- QU SZK GHI Q GAREI E. AlfredE; Grifliths, Little Silver, N. J. Application April 2 6, 1955, Serial No. 503,982

4 C laims. (Cl, 1317) Tghis inyention relates to a cigarette having on its. tip ignitable means includinga striker, adapted for lighting the cigarette without the necessity of holding a match o themeer & i ht n a are t wi h a m ch, it is necess r that, the smoker draw upon the cigarette immediately, when. the match ignites. Often, this causes the smoker to raw. ahumu ume nto t m uth l n av ba ass- Still, further, one. often experiences difiiculty in locats ie 6r a h r. ma find. e f. W hout matches. Aecordingly, it is one important object of the present invention to. provide means carried by the cigarette, that will ignite the cigarette so that one need not carry matchesor; a lighter, and it is a further important objec t to so design said means as to insuge, against the inhaling of sulphurous fumes, due to the construction deyiised'wherein. the cigarette is lit without the necessity of drawing on the. same. immediately.

Another important object is to provide a device as stated wherein, as the cigarette ignites, an aroma of; pine, peppermint, or the. like will. be imparted to the air drawn through the cigarette during: the first few inhalations upon the same. i

Qther, objects are to provide. a device as. stated which will insure against accidental'self ignition thereof; will produce a strong even flame; can be discarded after the cigarette is lit; will b so. designed as to include lighting wicks that are not connected; directly to the cigarette end; will have desirable safety. characteristics; will be capable of being disposed of readily after the"cigarette is lit; will be reliable in operation; will, after being slipped off the cigarette 'following lighting of'the cigarette, be usable as a lighter for a short period of time; and will be capable of manufacture at relatively low cost.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through a cigarette and an igniting means formed according tothe present invention, a portion of the cigarette being broken F1 3;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of thev cigarette and igniter means; i

' Figure 3 is a sectional view through the striker andmatch material support assembly; a Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view through the ignitr means, a portion of the cigarette being shown in elevation, the parts being shown immediately following igniting; i

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view on line 575 of Figure 1 Figure 6is a transverse sectional view on line 6 -6 of Figure l; V i

Figure 7- is a longitudinal sectional view through the striker per se; and

Figures 8 and 9 are reduced longitudinal sectional ice views. showing the cigarette at successive stages following ignitingof the same. i

A cigarette generally designated 10 is basically con-. ventional in form, having a paper. tube 12 encasing a quantity of tobacco 14.

Fitted, onto. and frictionally engaging the end of the cigarette is a sleeve 16 having a corrugated portion 18v projecting beyond the cigarette end, the corrugations of saidportionbeing for the. purposeof facilitating gripping of the cigarette when it is beiinglit.

Friotionally but removably engaged. in portion 18 is the inner end of a cylindrical casing 20 the outer. end of: which is closed by an end Wall 22-. The casing 20 is provided with a cylindricalv liner. 24 of asbestos, said liner extending from the open inner end of the casing to alocation adjacent thernidlength portion thereof,'and merging into a frustro-conical end wall 26 also of asbestos material integral at its smaller end with a cup-like extension 28 having. a tub ular member 30 integrally formed thereon, said member 30 extending to the end wall. 22 and opening into communication with atmosphere through a center opening 31 formed in the end Wall 22. Integral with. the periphery of end wall 22 is a conical partition 32, having at its smaller end an opening receiving the inner end: of the tubular member 30. Between the partition. 32' and the frustro conical extension 26 therev is defined a chamber in which there is an aromatic means embodying cotton wadding or other saturable material, saturated with an aromatic liquid, such as. one fiayor ed with pine, peppermint, or thelike.

Lining the extension 26 is a complementaril-y shaped cup element 36 formed of paper or the like, having. in thecenterportion thereof (see Figures 1 and 3) ignitable match material 38. Surrounding the match material and. secured to the wall; of cup element 36 is a series. of concentric streamers 40, formed from strips of lightly waxed paper. material or the like, which streamersare adapted. to ignite readily when the match material 38 is ignited. The streamers are extended longitudinally of the. casing 20, and are adapted to flow freely within the casing, so as to be exposed to the maximum extent to air impinging upon the same.

Between the streamers and the adjacent end of-the cigarette, there. is defined an open space about which the liner. 24 extends, and in this open space there is freely dispersed a quantity of small, lightly waxed strips of paper 42.

Openings 44 are formed in the cup element 36, and in its. associated liner extension 26, communicating with the chamber. in which the saturated cotton is provided. Asa result, the aroma of the saturated cotton is dispersed to. the maximum extent through the portion of the device in which the flame is created, and through which air is drawn following lighting of the cigarette. The put: pose of this is to impart to the air drawn into the cigarette the desired aroma, so as to produce maximum enjoyment from the cigarette.

Circumferentially spaced slots 46 are formed in the casing 20, and in the liner, said slots registering to pro: vide inlets for air to support combustion. Additional, smaller. air inlet apertures 48 are also formed in the casing and liner, adjacent the large vents or inlet openings 46, to support the combustion immediately following igni tion of the match material.

For the purpose of igniting the match material there is provided a striker including a stem 50 seated in and slidable longitudinally of the extension sleeve 30. of the; liner. 7 N

Mounted on the inner end of the stem 50 is a striker, 52 formed as a bulbous enlargement, said striker being coated with a suitable gritty substance to produce friction against the match material. This substance may be a fine sandpaper, a phosphorus material, or the like. The stem extends through a small opening in the match material, said opening being approximately the size of the diameter of the stem, so that when the stem is drawn to the right in Figure l to its Figure 4 position, the bulbous enlargement will be forced through the restricted opening of the match material, creating suflicient friction to ignite the same.

On the outer end of the stem is a fiat handle 54 disposed exteriorly of the casing, said handle being grasped with the fingers of one hand, while the other hand grasps the corrugated portion 18 of the sleeve 16. The user pulls the handle to the right in Figure 1, so as to completely pull the striker out of the casing. As a result, there is now defined, by removal of the striker, an air inlet passage opening through the aperture 31 and the extension sleeve 30 into the combustion chamber of the device.

Thus, it is seen that almost simultaneously with igniting of the match material, an air passage directly through said material is produced, through which passage air rushes to support combustion. At the same same, air enters through the slots 46 and apertures 48, to support combustion within the combustion chamber.

Immediately following igniting of the match material, the streamers 40, and then the loosely dispersed strips 42 will ignite. The flame, however, will be confined within the casing, and the casing itself will not burn due to the fact that the entire combustion chamber is lined with asbestos material.

The end of the cigarette will accordingly be lit, without necessity of ones drawing upon the cigarette.

After the cigarette has been lit, one may now remove the casing 20, as shown in Figure 8, said casing slipping readily out of the portion 18 of sleeve 16. Then, one can remove the sleeve 16 itself, leaving the cigarette lit and ready to be smoked.

It will be apparent that when the casing 20 is removed, there will be a certain amount of flame still remaining within the same, and the casing can then be used as lighter, to light one or more other cigarettes, until the wicks or streamers 40 are fully consumed.

The striker, casing, and sleeve 16 can of course be readily disposed of following lighting of the cigarette.

It should be noted that the large vents or slots 46 serve a purpose of permitting the escape of sulphurous and other fumes, so that the cigarette is lit only by the streamers 40 and strips 42, and not by the flame emanating from the match material itself.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination With a cigarette, a cylindrical casing formed open at one end, said end abutting against one end of the cigarette, the casing including an end wall at its other end having a center opening; means detachably connecting the abutting ends of the casing and cigarette; a liner within the casing, said liner including a cylindrical portion abutting at one end against the cigarette end, a frustro-conical extension on the other end of the liner, and a sleeve projecting from said frustro-conical extension, the sleeve being in communicationwith atmosphere at one end thereof through the center opening of the casing end wall, the liner cooperating with the cigarette end to provide a combustion chamber and said sleeve opening at its other end into the combustion chamber; an ignitable material within the frustro-conical extension extending adjacent the second named end of the sleeve; and striker means slidably mounted in said sleeve and adapted to frictionally engage the ignitable material on sliding movement of the striker means in one direction within the sleeve.

2. In combination with a cigarette, a. cylindrical casing formed open at one end, said end abutting against one end of the cigarette, the casing including an end wall at its other end having a center opening; means detachably connecting the abutting ends of the casing and cigarette; a liner within the casing, said liner including a cylindrical portion abutting at one end against the cigarette end, a frustro-conical extension on the other end of the liner, and a sleeve projecting from said frustro-conical extension, the sleeve being in communication with atmosphere at one end thereof through the center opening of the easing end wall, the liner cooperating with the cigarette end to provide a combustion chamber and said sleeve opening at its other end into the combustion chamber; an ignitable material within the frustro-conical extension extending adjacent the second named end of the sleeve; and striker means slidably mounted in said sleeve and adapted to frictionally engage the ignitable material on sliding movement of the striker means in one direction within the sleeve, said striker means including a stern slidably engaged in the sleeve, a handle on one end of the stem disposed exteriorly of the casing, and a bulbous enlargement of a friction producing material on the other end of the stem, said enlargement engaging the ignitable material on sliding of the stem in said one direction.

3. In combination with a cigarette, a cylindrical casing formed open at one end, said end of the casing abutting against one end of the cigarette, the casing being closed at its other end and having a plurality of air inlet openings in its side wall; a liner of a flame resistant material within the casing, said liner being closed at one end and having its other end formed open and abutting against the cigarette end to cooperate with the cigarette end in forming a combustion chamber within the casing; means detachably connecting the casing to the cigarette; a partition within the casing spaced from said closed end of the liner to cooperate therewith in defining therebetween a chamber separated from the combustion chamber, the liner having openings communicating between said chambers; aromatic means within the second named chamber, for producing an aroma entering the combustion chamber through said openings communicating between the chambers, the liner having openings registering with the first named openings to provide air inlets into the combustion chamber; ignitable material mounted in the closed end of the liner; and striker means removably mounted on the casing, said striker means including, within the combustion chamber, a friction producing surface adapted to engage against the ignitable material on removal of the striker means, to produce a flame within the combustion chamber impinging against said end of the cigarette.

4. In combination with a cigarette, a cylindrical casing formed open at one end, said end of the casing abutting against one end of the cigarette, the casing being closed at its other end and having a plurality of air inlet openings in its side wall; a liner of a flame resistant material within the casing, said liner being closed at one end and having its other end formed open and abutting against the cigarette end to cooperate with the cigarette end in forming a combustion chamber within the casing; means detachably connecting the casing to the cigarette; a partition within the casing spaced from said closed end of the liner to cooperate therewith in defining therebetween a chamber separated from the combustion chamber, the liner having openings communicating between said chambers; aromatic means within the second named chamber, for producing an aroma entering the combustion chamber through said openings communicating between the chambers, the liner having openings registering with the first named openings to provide air inlets into the combustion chamber; ignitable material mounted in the closed end of the liner; striker means removably mounted on the casing, said striker means including, within the combustion chamber, a friction producing surface adapted to engage against the ignitable material on removal of the striker means, to produce a flame within the combustion chamber impinging against said end of the cigarette; and a plurality of readily ignitable strips loosely disposed within the combustion chamber, said strips extending References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Mast Mar. 24, 1914 McKissack Aug. 11, 1942 

